In Unlocking Parental Intelligence, long-experienced psychoanalyst, Laurie Hollman, PhD, encourages parents to find the significance behind their child’s behaviors by becoming “meaning-makers.” Parental Intelligence is explained through compelling and empathic story-telling that answers parents’ questions: “Why do children do what they do? “ “What’s on their minds?” “How can parents know their child’s inner world?"

Through a clear five-step approach, parents discover the power and wisdom of a new parenting mindset that helps them learn what their kids think, want, intend and feel. They see actions as communications. They are rewarded with open parent-child dialogue about the underlying problems hidden beneath the behaviors. As they problem solve, parents discover misbehaviors are not only meaningful, but a catalyst to change.

Parents and professionals alike will find a new parenting approach from this invaluable book that will reshape families’ lives and guide them through all stages of typical and atypical child development. This accessible read enlightens, uplifts, and relieves while cultivating critical thinking on the part of parents and children as they wrestle with the common, and sometimes desperate vexations of family life. 

Laurie Hollman, PhD, is an award-winning author and psychoanalyst with specialized clinical training in infant-parent, child, adolescent, and adult psychotherapy. She has been on the faculties of New York University and the Society for Psychoanalytic Training and Research, among others, and has written extensively on parenting for various publications, including her popular column, “Parental Intelligence,” at Moms Magazine.

Part One: THE ESSENTIAL PARENT

• The Parenting Mindset
• What Fuels Punishment Instead of a Search for Meaning?
• Five Steps to Parental Intelligence

Part Two: STORIES OF PARENTAL INTELLIGENCE IN PRACTICE

• At-Risk Parents Misread Infant’s Fussy Behavior: Carrie’s First Months
• A Distressed Child, not a Bad Child: Two-Year-Old Travis
• A Boy with Asperger’s Can’t Stop Singing: Four-Year-Old Lee
• Jealousy in an Identical Twin: Six-Year-Old Clive
• The Storm, the Calm with ADHD: Eight-Year-Old Cathie
• Mother’s Angst: Thirteen-Year-Old Olivia
• Messy Room Signals Depression: Fifteen-Year-Old Leslie
• A Lonely Place to Call Home: Seventeen-Year-Old Eva

Part Three: THE FUTURE WITH PARENTAL INTELLIGENCE

• The Meeting Ground